How Otonabee-South Monaghan uses the money we share.

Why did the amount raised from property tax go up by $333,087.54 in the 2023 budget and $380,027.75 in the 2024 budget?

$7,239,352property tax levy in the 2024 budget, up from $6,859,324 in the 2023 budget

The levy is the total the Township asks property owners to pay in a year. The 2023 budget analysis shows a levy of $6,859,324 and says it was 5.04% more than the year before. The 2024 budget analysis shows $7,239,352 and a 5.47% increase. The Township splits each rise into two parts: new homes and businesses added to the tax roll (growth), and a higher tax rate. For 2024 the split is $171,080.59 from growth and $208,947.15 from the rate. We did not find the 2025 or 2026 levy in a document we could read reliably (see the finding on the 2026 budget).

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

The Township’s own plan says it is $2.4 million a year short on replacing roads and buildings. How will it close the gap?

$2.4 millionyearly gap between what the Township needs for capital and what it sets aside

An asset management plan lists what a town owns (roads, bridges, buildings, vehicles, water pipes) and what it will cost to keep them working. The Township’s July 2025 plan says its assets would cost $122.2 million to replace. It says the average yearly need is $4.2 million, it sets aside about $1.7 million, and so the yearly gap is $2.4 million. Roads are the biggest piece: a $1,335,488 gap each year. The plan also counts a $3.4 million backlog of assets kept in service past their expected life. The Township has adopted a plan to close the gap over 15 years for tax-supported assets and 10 years for water, with tax rises averaging 1.9% a year and water rates 0.8% a year.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 4 sources

Why was the audit report on the 2022 statements signed on January 24, 2024, and why are the 2023 and 2024 statements posted only as page pictures?

The auditor’s report on the Township’s 2022 financial statements gives a clean opinion (the statements “present fairly”) and is dated January 24, 2024, more than a year after the year ended on December 31, 2022. The Township’s finance page also lists statements for 2023 and 2024. When we opened those two files they had no text we could read, only pictures of pages, so we did not use anything from them. That means the newest audited figures we could check in this pack are for 2022.

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources

What is the status of the lawsuits and the unfinished landfill closure the Township reported in its 2022 statements?

A contingent liability is money the Township might have to pay, depending on an outcome nobody knows yet. The 2022 statements say the Township has been named in lawsuits whose outcome cannot be known, and no amount is booked. They also say a closed landfill site shared with another municipality, and possibly a private landowner, has not met all provincial closure requirements, and the cost cannot be estimated because the Province has not approved a closure plan. The Township holds a separate reserve of $230,933 for this site. It also reports a booked liability of $190,000 for one closed Township landfill (down from $259,000).

Found by reading the town's own documents · 2 sources